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Article

16 Jun 2017

Author:
Anna Dannreuther for RightsInfo (UK)

UK: Blog addresses London Grenfell Tower Fire from business & human rights angle

...KCTMO is a private company registered in England and Wales. The building’s architects, renovators, and contractors, are also all “business enterprises” for the purposes of the UNGPs, and they therefore must respect each and every one of the rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including: Article 3: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. Article 5: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Article 8: Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law. Article 25: Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control. As a result of the Grenfell Tower Fire, these rights of the tower’s residents were clearly not respected or protected. Traditionally, only government and its agencies would have to respect human rights law. However, under the UNGPs businesses themselves must respect human rights law...